Post by snowy on Mar 1, 2014 3:35:40 GMT -5
Hello all Hope you are all well as a new forum user I will introduce myself to you all, my Name is Steve Watson but was known as Snowy at the pit I worked at Brodsworth and Bentley as a face worker. I was also a Qualified Auto Electrician which I came back into after I left Bentley after closure.
About a week ago Hargreves coal at Maltby colliery call us in as two of there vans were broken into so they asked us to fit security systems and upgraded locks. When I arrived iwas sent on a small induction course to be told the dos and donts on the site. After I completeted the job I was talking to site manager and told him of my mining past and how interested I was with old mining pictures. It was at this point he said I will take you over to the shafts if you wish, I was delighted at the opportunity and followed at haste. He imformed me that Maltby had 3 shafts, one was completely filled and I could and did look down I was told it was No2 when I looked down I could see the fill which was course graded rubble that did as I could spot house bricks in there it was filled up to around a meter from the top of the shaft the brickwork of the shaft wall which was very clear to see and was around as I said about a meter exposed, why I found this some fascinating I will never know but I did. He told me the only thing left to do was to fit the concrete cap.
He then took me on to No1 which well was a treat I could no have timed it better two of the blacksmiths or if you wish Shaft Men had just come out in the Kibble which I must say was not what I expected to look as it did, I was used to seeing the old pictures of kibbles looking like big buckets but this one looked like a bib Iron framed rocket, in fact a bigger version of the thing the Chillen miners were rescued in. At this point I got to speak to the blacksmith and he told me the skip was out and the winding rope which I could see had been drawn out and cut up into meter sections. Then he told that all the balance ropes were only two years old and they were drawing them out and being sold on. It was at this point I s asked him about the shaft filling procedure to which he told me the pit bottom insets were not sealed or stopped in any way which I was amazed at they just dump the fill in. He then went on to tell me that he did and still could walk round in the pit bottom and see the sloped heap of fill there he said it had come in to around 10 meters into the gate. It will be around April that they star filling the next shaft the belt and the Spoil was there ready.
Now this part was interesting the upcast shaft which I think was no3 is still intact and fans are still running drawing out the air also the gas this shaft is not going to be filled just capped so as to act like a big gas chamber for the drawing off and generation on site of electricity. I am going to contact the guy again to see if I can go with a camera and take some photos if possible I will post them here. Regards Steve (Snowy)
About a week ago Hargreves coal at Maltby colliery call us in as two of there vans were broken into so they asked us to fit security systems and upgraded locks. When I arrived iwas sent on a small induction course to be told the dos and donts on the site. After I completeted the job I was talking to site manager and told him of my mining past and how interested I was with old mining pictures. It was at this point he said I will take you over to the shafts if you wish, I was delighted at the opportunity and followed at haste. He imformed me that Maltby had 3 shafts, one was completely filled and I could and did look down I was told it was No2 when I looked down I could see the fill which was course graded rubble that did as I could spot house bricks in there it was filled up to around a meter from the top of the shaft the brickwork of the shaft wall which was very clear to see and was around as I said about a meter exposed, why I found this some fascinating I will never know but I did. He told me the only thing left to do was to fit the concrete cap.
He then took me on to No1 which well was a treat I could no have timed it better two of the blacksmiths or if you wish Shaft Men had just come out in the Kibble which I must say was not what I expected to look as it did, I was used to seeing the old pictures of kibbles looking like big buckets but this one looked like a bib Iron framed rocket, in fact a bigger version of the thing the Chillen miners were rescued in. At this point I got to speak to the blacksmith and he told me the skip was out and the winding rope which I could see had been drawn out and cut up into meter sections. Then he told that all the balance ropes were only two years old and they were drawing them out and being sold on. It was at this point I s asked him about the shaft filling procedure to which he told me the pit bottom insets were not sealed or stopped in any way which I was amazed at they just dump the fill in. He then went on to tell me that he did and still could walk round in the pit bottom and see the sloped heap of fill there he said it had come in to around 10 meters into the gate. It will be around April that they star filling the next shaft the belt and the Spoil was there ready.
Now this part was interesting the upcast shaft which I think was no3 is still intact and fans are still running drawing out the air also the gas this shaft is not going to be filled just capped so as to act like a big gas chamber for the drawing off and generation on site of electricity. I am going to contact the guy again to see if I can go with a camera and take some photos if possible I will post them here. Regards Steve (Snowy)